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Virginia Cavaliers (2000: 6-6) The following team preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the nation's most comprehensive look at this and all Division I-A teams, be sure to order the 2001 Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518.
Coach and programJust when folks were ready to write off Virginia football as irrelevant on the national scene, the Cavaliers go out and get an NFL coach to leave his pro gig and set up shop in Charlottesville.Al Groh, who coached in two Super Bowls under Bill Parcells and was 9-7 last year as head coach of the New York Jets, is back at his alma mater. And pro coaches don’t leave head jobs like that unless they’re certain they can do something special on the college level. Something special happened in Charlottesville the last 19 years as coach George Welsh took a perennial doormat to the upper echelon of the Atlantic Coast Conference and became the ACC’s all-time winningest coach. But Virginia stumbled to a 6-6 mark last season, on the heels of a 7-5 record in 1999, when that season ended with an embarrassing 63-21 shellacking to Illinois in the Micron PC.com Bowl. Meanwhile just down the road that year, arch-rival Virginia Tech played for the national championship. Welsh went quietly, allowing for a smooth transition in the program he built. More refreshingly, the old coach is apparently welcome back at the sparkling new football offices and facilities the new coach inherited. Players are excited about working under a coaching staff that knows exactly what it takes to play pro football. The offense and defense will have more of a pro look to their schemes, and chances are, that characteristic will attract more players with pro potential. There was a perception that Virginia football had to take a downward spiral after the most successful run in school history, but Groh, it would seem, has the potential to take Virginia to another rung on that college football ladder. He may not have all the pieces -- on the field or in a schedule that includes non-conference games at Wisconsin and against Penn State -- to be immediately successful this year. But Cavalier fans better start stocking up the pate’ and Virginia bourbon because the tailgate parties the next few years could be a lot of fun in Charlottesville.
OffenseSophomore quarterbacks Bryson Spinner and Matt Schaub were the storyline last spring just battling for backup duties behind senior Dan Ellis.This year, the talented duo are battling for the starting job, and it’s a question Groh will deal with every day until he selects a starter prior to the Aug. 25 opener at Wisconsin. Spinner played considerably more over the course of last season, but that doesn’t mean much now under a new regime. He also had the upper hand in Virginia’s open spring practice when he completed 11-of-18 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns. Schaub was just 4-for-16 for 49 yards on a day clearly dominated by Virginia’s defense. Whoever is throwing the football, he will have a talented and experienced group of wideouts on the receiving end. Billy McMullen (6-4, 202), a junior, headlines the returnees after catching 30 passes for 541 yards and three scores last season. A Cavalier tailback has led the ACC in rushing for three consecutive seasons, four of the last five years and seven times since 1985. Tiki Barber did it in 1995, and Thomas Jones did it in back-to-back years in 1998 and 1999. In 2000, senior Antoine Womack (6-0, 215) took the ball and ran. He racked up 1,028 yards (93.5 yards per game) last season as a junior. Groh and offensive line coach Ron Prince welcome back a veteran unit up front, anchored by three returning senior starters. In fact, counting Chris Luzar (6-7, 250) at tight end, the Cavaliers will have five fifth-year seniors starting in the line.
Defense and special teamsThe strength of the defense the last two years, Virgina’s linebacking corps lost all three starters to graduation but there’s a long list of candidates to step into the open spots on the depth chart and the open holes in the line during a game.One candidate already made a name for himself with a sterling performance in Virginia’s open spring practice. Sophomore Raymond Mann (6-1, 220) was pressed into service at defensive end last fall and seemed like a player without a natural position when he tallied 11 tackles. Senior Ljubomir Stamenich (6-3, 250) is a two-year starter at end and has been the team’s most effective pass rusher the last two years. He led the team with four sacks last season. Senior Darryl Sanders (6-3, 268) returns at the other end where he turned in a career-best 44 tackles and tied for second on the team with two sacks. At tackle, two more seniors return, Monsanto Pope (6-4, 282) and George Stanley (6-2, 292). Whatever duo emerges as the Cavaliers’ starting cornerbacks, they will mark the third different set the last three years. The safety positions look solid with junior starters Jerton Evans (5-11, 195) and Shernard Newby (6-1, 208) both back. Senior David Greene (5-10, 180) took over the kicking job last year and turned in a brilliant performance. He connected on 11-of-15 field-goal attempts (73.3 percent) and was the only player in the ACC with more than one field goal of at least 48 yards (he had two).
Bottom lineThere’s a chance -- if the quarterbacking situation works out -- that the Cavaliers could be a lot better this year than they were last season. Problem is, it’s hard seeing that improvement showing up in the record.The Aug. 25 opener at Wisconsin is a killer for a team learning a new system, and the Sept. 13 home date with Penn State looks tough, too. Figure the Cavs lose those two and beat Richmond on Sept. 1, they’re 1-2 heading to Clemson Sept. 22, and the season already seems in jeopardy. Unless they beat somebody they’re not supposed to -- Florida State, Georgia Tech or Virginia Tech -- that’s six losses and that’s if they beat everybody else they should or realistically could. |
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